Department for Education

Children in Care

lord ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increase in the number of children in care; and how they will ensure that sufficient funding is in place to support the provision of care places.

lord agnew of oulton: The government wants every child to be in a stable, loving home that is right for them. One of the key principles of the legislation which underpins the UK’s child protection system, is that children are best looked after within their families, but that is not always possible. As a last resort, local authorities may apply to the independent courts for a decision about removing a child from his or her family – for the child’s safety.We regularly monitor and assess the number of children that come into contact with our child protection system and recognise that the number of children in care has risen. That is why, we are working across government to ensure that local authorities and the courts have the resources they need.The 2015 Spending Review made available more than £200 billion until 2020 for councils to deliver the local services their communities want to see, including children’s services. In addition, we are improving children’s social care through our £200 million Innovation Programme. This aims to help local authorities learn from what works in order to design services that are as efficient and effective as possible. A number of local authorities implementing these programmes have successfully reduced the number of children in their care. We are also working to set up the new What Works Centre, to build evidence to help improve outcomes for vulnerable children, including a focus on reducing the number of children in care.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Christopher Allen

baroness northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatmeasures they have takento ensure that the South Sudanese authorities conducted a satisfactory investigation in relation to the killing of the British citizen, Christopher Allen, in August 2017.

baroness northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the South Sudanese authorities about the killing of the British citizen, Christopher Allen, in August 2017.

baroness northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they have provided to the family of the British citizen, Christopher Allen, who was killed in South Sudan in August 2017.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​US consular services contacted the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for advice regarding Christopher Allen’s death in South Sudan, a dual US/UK national. Consular assistance was provided by the US consular services in Sudan and the USA, following the decision by the family to repatriate Mr Allen to the USA.